Eight Buffs Selected Preseason All-Pac-12 By Athlon

BOULDER – Athlon Sports released its preseason All-Pac-12 teams Thursday and eight Colorado Buffaloes donned its lists.

Colorado, the reigning Pac-12 South Champions, ranked eighth in the league for the most players selected to Athlon's teams, which featured a first-, second-, third- and fourth-team for offense, defense and special teams.

Among Pac-12 South Division schools, Colorado ranked fourth out of six.

Most preseason All-Pac-12 Selections by school (2016 record in parentheses):
14 - Oregon (4-8)
13 - Washington (12-2)
12 - Stanford (10-3)
11 - USC (10-3)
11 - Washington State (8-5)
9 - Arizona State (5-7)
9 - UCLA (4-8)
8 - Colorado (10-4)
7 - Utah (9-4)
6 - Cal (5-7)
5 - Oregon State (4-8)
3 - Arizona (3-9)

Here's a look at CU's eight selections to Athlon's All-Pac-12 Preseason Teams:

RB Phillip Lindsay – First-Team All-Purpose Selection
Wise choice here as Lindsay ranks second in the league and ninth in the FBS among all returning players in career all-purpose yardage with 4,029. His 16 rushing touchdowns a year ago led the conference. In 2016, he accounted for 1,819 all-purpose yards off of 1,252 rushing, 493 receiving and 74 on returns (all including the bowl game).

WR Shay Fields – First-Team Selection
Fields' 1,929 career receiving yards are the most of any player returning in the conference. His 33 career starts are the most on the team and he ranks sixth all-time at Colorado in receptions (144), tied for eighth in TD receptions (17) and is 10th in receiving yards. A true deep threat, he has nine career catches of 50 yards or longer (seven of which are over 60 yards).

OL Jeromy Irwin – Second-Team Selection
Selected as a team captain in 2017 and a to-be sixth-year senior, he has played in 35 career games with 25 starts (redshirted as a sophomore in 2013, received medical hardship waiver for 2015 season). He garnered second-team All-Pac-12 honors a year ago when he graded out as CU's best offensive lineman.

CB Isaiah Oliver – Second-Team Selection
A two-sport star, he carries a lot of momentum into the summer after a strong fall on the gridiron and a fourth-place finish in the decathlon at the 2017 Pac-12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships. His 20 career passes defended (19 breakups, one interception), ranks fourth among all players returning in the conference this fall when he enters his junior campaign.

S Afolabi Laguda – Third-Team Selection
Also selected as a team captain for the 2017 season, his 1,029 snaps from scrimmage in his first two seasons at CU are the most of any returning defensive back. Last season as a junior he was second on the team with 80 tackles and helped the CU secondary rank No. 3 in the country in pass efficiency defense at 98.12 while opposing quarterbacks completed just 48.3 percent of their passes.

OL Tim Lynott – Third-Team Selection
Lynott was a first-team Freshman All-America selection by USA Today last season. His 940 snaps from scrimmage were the most of any CU offensive lineman and he was credited with 9.5 knockdown blocks, 19 touchdown blocks (direct), 14 perfect plays on passing touchdowns, gave up only three sacks and six pressures while committing only four penalties on the season.

S Ryan Moeller – Fourth-Team Selection (as a linebacker)
Folks around the league are starting to take notice of Moeller's versatility, as the defensive back was selected as a linebacker on Athlon's preseason teams. That is because of the special "Buff" hybrid role he plays on CU's defense – a mixture of outside linebacker, nickel back and safety. Last season Moeller earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors as a special teams player. On defense in 2016, he played 448 snaps while recording 44 tackles (27 solo, four for losses), two forced fumbles, two pass breakups, one quarterback pressure and one third down stop.

PR Isaiah Oliver – Fourth-Team Selection
Taking over as CU's punt returner for the last half of 2016, he returned 14 punts for 164 yards and one touchdown. Had he returned enough punts to meet the NCAA's statistical minimum, he would have ranked fourth in the Pac-12 and 11th in the FBS for the highest punt return average (11.7).

Colorado University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Shay Fields

Jeromy Irwin

Afolabi Laguda

Phillip Lindsay

Tim Lynott

Ryan Moeller

Isaiah Oliver

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